1. Global Warming Beliefs

Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by more than 5 to 1.

Seven in ten Americans (70%) think global warming is happening. By contrast, only about one in eight Americans (13%) think global warming is not happening.

The percentage of Americans who think global warming is happening has remained steady since March 2016, and nearly matches its highest level (71%) since our surveys began in November 2008.

1.2. More than four in ten Americans are sure global warming is happening. Fewer than one in ten are sure it is not happening.

Forty-five percent of Americans are either “extremely” or “very” sure global warming is happening. Far fewer – 7% – are “extremely” or “very sure” global warming is not happening.

The percentage who are sure global warming is happening has risen steadily over the past two years, and is now at its highest level since November 2008.

1.3. More than half of Americans think global warming is mostly human caused.

The 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment (written and reviewed by hundreds of climate experts over the course of four years) states: “The global warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human activities, predominantly the burning of fossil fuels. Many independent lines of evidence confirm that human activities are affecting climate in unprecedented ways” (p. 15).http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report

Public understanding of climate change, however, is very different from the conclusions of the nation’s climate experts. Currently, just over half of Americans (55%) understand that global warming is mostly human caused, the highest percentage who have said that since November 2008. By contrast, three in ten (30%) say it is due mostly to natural changes in the environment – the lowest percentage to say that since our surveys began in 2008.

1.4. Only about one in seven Americans understand that almost all climate scientists (more than 90%) have concluded human-caused global warming is happening.

Only about one in seven Americans (15%) understand that nearly all climate scientists (more than 90%) are convinced that human-caused global warming is happening. However, this reflects an increase of 4 percentage points (up from 11%) since March 2016. About half (53%) of the American public believes that more than half of climate scientists think human-caused global warming is happening, an increase of 5 percentage points (up from 48%) since March.Respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of climate scientists who have concluded that human-caused global warming is happening by moving a simulated “slider bar” which appeared on the screen of their computer. This slider allowed respondents to move the marker from “0%” on the left to “100% on the right, or to any whole number between the two.

Public misunderstanding of the scientific consensus – which has been found in each of our surveys since 2008 – has significant consequences. Other research has identified public understanding of the scientific consensus as an important “gateway belief” that influences other important beliefs (i.e., global warming is happening, human caused, a serious problem, and solvable) and support for action.